Willing

Georgie Jones is not a balker by nature. She chooses instead to be willing—or at least willing to be willing.

Willing to Act

Early in the story and from the safety of a willow tree in her dad’s yard, primary character Georgie recalls intolerable behavior back at her old home in Starkton. She was held back from taking action by threats against her loved ones. Her healthy, spunky confidence took a barrage of insidious hits as the situation escalated from inappropriate to abusive. The girl wrestled with herself, willing herself to reach out. Ultimately, Georgie took charge and leapt into action to protect her siblings. These were the first steps in restoring her confidence and awakening her true self.

Willing to Learn

Georgie is willing to look at her family, herself and her life with a frankness uncharacteristic in a fourteen and a half year old. (But then, she is not your typical teenager.) Why had her parents split? Why had her mom chose Jack, her stepfather? Her self-analysis brings clarity, and answers—neither had anything to do with her.

Willing to Trust

Georgie knows deep down in the core of her that she can trust Luther, a longtime friend of her grandparents. Her willingness to trust him opens her to his wisdom. It forges their bond of mentorship, and hearkens to a prophecy.

Willing to Grow

Luther guides her through the shock of learning the truth of who she is. She regains her spunk. Georgie wants to grow. Her willingness enables an open and fertile mind, and nurtures her into who she is meant to be.

Georgie sets aside disbelief and skepticism, whether wholeheartedly or temporarily. This allows her to clearly grasp and excel in lesson after lesson, develop new abilities, and save a friend from certain doom.

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Fiction writer and author Tanya D. Dawson has written a story for the young adult in all of us. Her pending novel, Andersen Light: A Mystic Creek Novel [working title], brightens the sometimes dark world of YA and delivers the angst and the weird in this inspiring becoming-who-you-are adventure of mystery, intrigue, and mysticism grounded in today’s world. While Andersen Light: A Mystic Creek Novel is primarily set on the North’ish West Coast, Tanya lives and works in the American Southwest.